Thirty-One Knots

At eight forty on Saturday morning, Frida found a rope hanging from the diving platform. It had far too many knots.

Pukul delapan empat puluh pada Sabtu pagi, Frida menemukan seutas tali tergantung di papan loncat. Simpulnya jauh terlalu banyak.

She stood on the wet tiles of the rooftop pool and touched each knot with one finger. There were thirty-one of them, tied tight, and some were as big as plums. Behind her, the water looked grey and cloudy.

Ia berdiri di atas ubin basah kolam renang atap dan menyentuh setiap simpul dengan satu jari. Ada tiga puluh satu, terikat kencang, dan beberapa sebesar buah plum. Di belakangnya, air tampak kelabu dan keruh.

"Aarav, come and look at this," she called.

"Aarav, kemari dan lihat ini," panggilnya.

Aarav came out of the changing room with a mop over his shoulder. He was sixteen, like Frida. He worked at the pool on weekends to save money for a new bike.

Aarav keluar dari ruang ganti dengan sebuah pel di bahunya. Usianya enam belas tahun, sama seperti Frida. Ia bekerja di kolam renang itu pada akhir pekan untuk menabung membeli sepeda baru.

"That is not a normal rope," he said. "Who tied all those knots?"

"Itu bukan tali biasa," katanya. "Siapa yang mengikat semua simpul itu?"

"I think the manager did." Frida held up a piece of paper. "Read this. It was on the front desk."

"Kurasa manajer." Frida mengangkat selembar kertas. "Baca ini. Ada di meja depan."

The note said, "Gone to collect the trophies. Back at ten thirty. Please start the water pump by nine thirty. The code for the pump box is on the rope."

Catatan itu berbunyi, "Pergi mengambil piala. Kembali pukul sepuluh tiga puluh. Tolong nyalakan pompa air sebelum pukul sembilan tiga puluh. Kode kotak pompa ada di tali."

"On the rope?" Aarav read the note twice. "Why didn't he just write the code down?"

"Di tali?" Aarav membaca catatan itu dua kali. "Kenapa dia tidak menuliskan kodenya saja?"

"Last week he did, on a sticky note. A little boy found it and pushed the emergency button." Frida looked at the big clock above the snack bar. "The whole pool stopped for an hour."

"Minggu lalu dia menuliskannya, di kertas tempel. Seorang anak laki-laki kecil menemukannya dan menekan tombol darurat." Frida menatap jam besar di atas kios makanan ringan. "Seluruh kolam berhenti selama satu jam."

"So now the code is hidden." Aarav put down his mop. "How long do we have?"

"Jadi sekarang kodenya disembunyikan." Aarav meletakkan pelnya. "Berapa lama waktu kita?"

"Fifty minutes. The first swimmers come at half past ten. The water needs an hour of cleaning before they jump in."

"Lima puluh menit. Perenang pertama datang pukul setengah sebelas. Airnya butuh satu jam pembersihan sebelum mereka melompat masuk."

"Then we need that code," Aarav said, and he started to pick at the nearest knot.

"Kalau begitu kita butuh kode itu," kata Aarav, lalu mulai mengutak-atik simpul terdekat.

The knot was wet and hard. After three minutes, Aarav had only loosened it a little, and his fingers hurt.

Simpul itu basah dan keras. Setelah tiga menit, Aarav baru melonggarkannya sedikit, dan jari-jarinya sakit.

"This will take all day," he said. "There are thirty more."

"Ini akan memakan waktu seharian," katanya. "Masih ada tiga puluh lagi."

"Maybe the manager hid a paper inside one of them," Frida said. "Keep going. I will try the next one."

"Mungkin manajer menyembunyikan kertas di dalam salah satunya," kata Frida. "Teruskan. Aku akan mencoba yang berikutnya."

They worked side by side for ten minutes. Aarav opened four knots, and Frida opened three. Inside them there was nothing at all, only damp, twisted cord.

Mereka bekerja berdampingan selama sepuluh menit. Aarav membuka empat simpul, dan Frida membuka tiga. Di dalamnya sama sekali tidak ada apa-apa, hanya tali basah yang terpilin.

"Maybe we should cut the rope," Aarav said. "The scissors are in the first-aid room."

"Mungkin kita harus memotong talinya," kata Aarav. "Gunting ada di ruang P3K."

"If we cut it, we might destroy the clue." Frida wiped her hands on her shorts. "Let me check the box first."

"Kalau kita potong, kita bisa merusak petunjuknya." Frida mengelap tangannya di celana pendeknya. "Biar aku periksa kotaknya dulu."

The pump box stood in the corner of the roof, a grey metal cabinet with a heavy padlock. The lock had four number wheels. Above each wheel, somebody had stuck a tiny coloured dot. The first was blue, the second white, the third green, and the fourth yellow.

Kotak pompa berdiri di sudut atap, lemari logam abu-abu dengan gembok berat. Gembok itu punya empat roda angka. Di atas setiap roda, seseorang menempelkan titik kecil berwarna. Yang pertama biru, kedua putih, ketiga hijau, dan keempat kuning.

Frida stared at the dots for a long moment. Then she looked back across the roof at the rope, and her eyes opened wide.

Frida menatap titik-titik itu lama sekali. Lalu ia menoleh ke seberang atap, ke arah tali itu, dan matanya membelalak.

"Aarav! What colour is the rope?"

"Aarav! Apa warna tali itu?"

"Grey, I think." He frowned. "No, wait. It is blue near the top."

"Kelabu, kurasa." Ia mengerutkan dahi. "Eh, tunggu. Dekat atasnya biru."

They ran back to the platform together. Frida lifted the rope and walked her hands down it. The top part was blue. Further down it turned white, then green, and the last part was yellow.

Mereka berlari kembali ke papan loncat bersama-sama. Frida mengangkat tali itu dan menelusurinya dengan kedua tangan ke bawah. Bagian atasnya biru. Lebih ke bawah berubah putih, lalu hijau, dan bagian terakhir kuning.

"It is four pieces of old lane rope, tied together," she said. "The manager never throws anything away. He has been saving these pieces for years."

"Ini empat potong tali lintasan lama yang disambung," katanya. "Manajer tidak pernah membuang apa pun. Dia sudah menyimpan potongan-potongan ini bertahun-tahun."

"And the dots on the lock have the same four colours." Aarav smiled for the first time that morning. "So we don't have to open any knots."

"Dan titik-titik di gembok punya empat warna yang sama." Aarav tersenyum untuk pertama kalinya pagi itu. "Jadi kita tidak perlu membuka satu simpul pun."

"We only have to count them. Seven knots might mean the number seven on the first wheel."

"Kita cuma perlu menghitungnya. Tujuh simpul mungkin berarti angka tujuh di roda pertama."

"That is a good guess, but we have to be careful," Aarav said. "If we make one mistake, the lock will not open."

"Itu tebakan yang bagus, tapi kita harus hati-hati," kata Aarav. "Kalau kita salah satu saja, gembok itu tidak akan terbuka."

Frida checked the clock. It was nine fifteen. She counted the blue part first, touching each knot slowly. Aarav counted the white part, and then they swapped places to check each other's numbers.

Frida memeriksa jam. Pukul sembilan lewat lima belas. Ia menghitung bagian biru lebih dulu, menyentuh setiap simpul dengan pelan. Aarav menghitung bagian putih, lalu mereka bertukar tempat untuk saling memeriksa angka masing-masing.

"Blue has seven," Frida said. "White has nine."

"Biru ada tujuh," kata Frida. "Putih sembilan."

"Green has eight," said Aarav. "And yellow has six."

"Hijau delapan," kata Aarav. "Dan kuning enam."

They ran to the pump box and tried seven, nine, eight, six. The padlock did not move. Aarav pulled it hard, but it stayed shut.

Mereka berlari ke kotak pompa dan mencoba tujuh, sembilan, delapan, enam. Gembok itu tidak bergerak. Aarav menariknya keras-keras, tetapi tetap terkunci.

"We made a mistake," he said. "Think, Frida. What do we know for sure?"

"Kita membuat kesalahan," katanya. "Pikirkan, Frida. Apa yang kita tahu pasti?"

"We know the total." She stopped. "There are thirty-one knots in all. I counted them at the beginning. But seven, nine, eight and six make only thirty."

"Kita tahu totalnya." Ia berhenti. "Ada tiga puluh satu simpul seluruhnya. Aku menghitungnya di awal. Tapi tujuh, sembilan, delapan, dan enam cuma jadi tiga puluh."

"So one of our numbers is wrong, and we only lost one knot." Aarav looked at his watch. "It is nine twenty-one."

"Jadi salah satu angka kita keliru, dan kita cuma kehilangan satu simpul." Aarav melihat jam tangannya. "Sekarang pukul sembilan dua puluh satu."

"Which part is the hardest to count?"

"Bagian mana yang paling sulit dihitung?"

"The yellow part. It is full of tiny knots, and the end of it is dirty from the floor."

"Bagian kuning. Penuh simpul-simpul kecil, dan ujungnya kotor karena menyentuh lantai."

They hurried back to the rope. This time Aarav closed his eyes and counted the yellow part with his fingertips. Halfway down, he stopped and made a small noise.

Mereka bergegas kembali ke tali. Kali ini Aarav memejamkan mata dan menghitung bagian kuning dengan ujung jarinya. Di pertengahan, ia berhenti dan mengeluarkan suara kecil.

"Frida, feel this. These two are tied right next to each other. Last time they felt like one big knot."

"Frida, rasakan ini. Dua simpul ini diikat tepat bersebelahan. Tadi rasanya seperti satu simpul besar."

Frida touched the place and nodded. "That is the missing one. Yellow has seven, not six."

Frida menyentuh bagian itu dan mengangguk. "Itu yang hilang. Kuning ada tujuh, bukan enam."

The clock said nine twenty-six. They ran across the wet tiles to the pump box. Frida turned the wheels with shaking fingers: seven, nine, eight, seven.

Jam menunjukkan pukul sembilan dua puluh enam. Mereka berlari melintasi ubin basah ke kotak pompa. Frida memutar roda-roda itu dengan jari gemetar: tujuh, sembilan, delapan, tujuh.

The padlock opened with a loud click.

Gembok itu terbuka dengan bunyi klik keras.

Inside the cabinet there were two black switches and one big green button. A paper sign said, "Switches up. Then press." Aarav pushed both switches up, and Frida pressed the button with her whole hand.

Di dalam lemari ada dua sakelar hitam dan satu tombol hijau besar. Sebuah papan kertas bertuliskan, "Sakelar ke atas. Lalu tekan." Aarav mendorong kedua sakelar ke atas, dan Frida menekan tombol itu dengan seluruh telapak tangannya.

For a second, nothing happened. Then a deep hum started under the floor. At the edge of the pool, the water began to move, slowly, towards the filter. Small bubbles rose up and popped.

Sedetik, tidak terjadi apa-apa. Lalu dengung dalam mulai terdengar di bawah lantai. Di tepi kolam, air mulai bergerak, pelan, menuju penyaring. Gelembung-gelembung kecil naik dan pecah.

"Nine twenty-nine," Aarav said, and he dropped onto a plastic chair. "One minute to spare."

"Sembilan dua puluh sembilan," kata Aarav, lalu menjatuhkan diri ke kursi plastik. "Sisa satu menit."

"The water will be clear by ten thirty." Frida laughed. "And the swimmers can come in."

"Airnya akan jernih pukul sepuluh tiga puluh." Frida tertawa. "Dan para perenang bisa masuk."

Aarav took out his phone. He had sent a message to the manager at nine ten, and there was still no answer. Now a new message arrived, and he read it aloud.

Aarav mengeluarkan ponselnya. Ia sudah mengirim pesan kepada manajer pukul sembilan sepuluh, dan belum ada jawaban. Kini sebuah pesan baru masuk, dan ia membacanya dengan suara keras.

"It says, 'Did you find the code? I tied the knots in the car park at midnight. It took me an hour.'"

"Isinya, 'Sudah ketemu kodenya? Aku mengikat simpul-simpul itu di tempat parkir tengah malam. Butuh satu jam.'"

"An hour!" Frida shook her head. "He should have used fewer knots."

"Satu jam!" Frida menggeleng. "Seharusnya dia memakai simpul lebih sedikit."

"I agree. Thirty-one is a crazy number." Aarav grinned. "But the colours were clever."

"Setuju. Tiga puluh satu itu angka gila." Aarav nyengir. "Tapi warnanya cerdik."

Frida went to the front desk and found a pen. She turned the manager's note over and wrote in big letters, "Next time, please use fewer knots." Then she stuck the note on his office door.

Frida pergi ke meja depan dan menemukan sebuah pena. Ia membalik catatan manajer dan menulis dengan huruf besar, "Lain kali, tolong pakai simpul lebih sedikit." Lalu ia menempelkan catatan itu di pintu kantornya.